The Way of Things
by Ayu-chan1
Summary: *CH 2 UP!* Hey, it looks like Selphie has a secret admirer, only...it's a bit obvious! Cid grants the group 2 weeks leave. Where will each go...and with who? Bad summary, I know, the fic itself isn't bad! (Zellphie)
1. Ch 1 - The Not So Secret Admirer

Disclaimer - Disclaimer – Me no own. Please don't sue! I…er…um…I didn't do it? *runs*  
  
Author's note – Yes, yes, I know I ripped this chapter's title right off my other Zellphie fic, but hey, you can forgive me, right? Please pardon the awkward-sounding nature of this chapter, but the idea just wouldn't come out how I wanted it to! *growls* Sometimes I hate my brain…well, consider this a rough draft because I'll be going back through it and fixing things all the time, from me sighting my own mistakes and from your suggestions…so anyway, on with it!  
  
  
  
The Way of Things  
  
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Rating: G, fluffy romance for the whole family!  
  
Author: Ayu-chan  
  
E-mail: ph0enixtear@yahoo.com  
  
Version: 1.0  
  
Chapter One: The Not So Secret Admirer  
  
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Fresh daylight from the rising sun washed over the petite figure of a young girl, painting her pale form with the soft colors of morning. Her eyelids twitched a bit before sliding open to reveal a pair of beautiful emerald eyes, squinting slightly at the brightness. Giving a little stretch, Selphie Tilmitt rose to her feet, stumbling a bit as her sleep- fogged mind attempted to decide which direction was up. Once she could successfully stand upright, she looked around in confusion, seeing not the familiar adornment of her little dorm room, but instead the stage and equipment of the quad.  
  
'Oh man…I fell asleep out here again!' She smacked the heel of her hand against her forehead, her lips forming a small frown. 'Why do I keep doing this?' Shaking her head, she smoothed out her clothes and hair and began the walk to the dormitory.  
  
Just as Selphie was about to enter the dormitory complex, a flustered- looking Zell nearly ran her over as he raced out the door. His jaw dropped when he saw whom he had run into, and he started babbling.  
  
"Oh! Selphie! Uh…hi! Good morning! So, uh…how are you? I, er…" He trailed off, a hand moving to scratch the back of his neck.  
  
Selphie covered her mouth and giggled at his obvious discomfiture. "Good morning, Zell!" She flashed him a big smile once her fit of giggles subsided.  
  
The young man standing before her nearly lost it when she gave him that smile. 'She's so gorgeous…' He stood there dumbfounded for a few seconds, before snapping back to reality. "Well! Uh…" He tugged at his waist-length jacket impatiently. "Um, it was really nice seeing you! I, uh, guess I'll see you later, eh? Heh heh…" With that last stuttered remark, he bolted like a thousand undead creatures were on his tail. Selphie grinned broadly, turning on her heel to finally go to her room. She didn't go more than two steps before the intercom chimed, signaling an announcement.  
  
"Attention please. This is Headmaster Cid. I would like the following people in my office in ten minutes: Squall Leonhart, Zell Dincht, Quistis Trepe, Irvine Kinneas, Rinoa Heartilly, and Selphie Tilmitt. Thank you, that is all."  
  
'I wonder what he wants…another mission for us, maybe?' After much delay, she made it to her room, pausing at the door to take out her key. 'Mmmm…something smells good…' She slipped the key into the lock and turned it, pushing the door open. As soon as she took the key out of the lock, she dropped it, along with her jaw. On her bed sat the most beautiful flowers she had ever seen, arranged absolutely breathtakingly. Atop her desk sat a breakfast tray with an ice-cold glass of orange juice, one cinnamon raisin bagel with cream cheese, and two strips of perfectly cooked bacon. The crowning glory, however, was the plate of steaming hot waffles, slathered in whipped cream and little blueberries arranged in a smiley face. Beside the waffles was a little note card. Scrawled in slightly sloppy handwriting was the message  
  
To: Selphie  
  
From: …Someone you know  
  
Selphie squealed happily, hopping over to the desk. She recognized Zell's messy penmanship almost immediately, letting a small smirk play across her features. "So this is why he was so jittery! Mmmm, and this is definitely the good smell from out there!" She quickly devoured the meal, wanting to savor it, but also wanting to get to Headmaster Cid's office on time to see Zell. After her meal was finished, she grabbed one of the flowers from the bouquet on her bed and tucked it into her hair, pushing her chestnut locks behind her ears. Glancing at the clock above her desk, she nearly panicked. "Oh no! I'm LATE!" She tore off, slowing only long enough to swipe up her discarded key off the floor and pull the door shut behind her.  
  
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Squall's foot tapped impatiently as he glanced at the clock. "She's five minutes late. This isn't like her." His gaze turned to each of his comrades in turn. "Does anyone know where she is?"  
  
Zell ran a hand through his hair nervously, trying to hide the guilty look on his face. He opened his mouth hesitantly, and was about to speak when…  
  
"Sorry everyone! Here I am!" Selphie sang out as she bounced into the room, earning her a roll of the eyes from Squall. Noticing the flower resting in her soft cinnamon hair, a faint blush stained Zell's cheeks that went thankfully unnoticed.  
  
"Now that everyone's here," began Cid, rising from his chair. "On behalf of Edea and I, I just wanted to thank you all for everything you did for us." As if on cue, Edea walked out from the back room and took her husband's arm, giving the group a serene smile. Cid quickly kissed her forehead before continuing. "I would also like to thank you on behalf of Garden. We could never say enough words to express our thanks. The best thing I can think of right now is to give you two and a half weeks paid leave. Is that acceptable to everyone?" An enthusiastic 'Yes, sir!' answered his question, and he chuckled good-naturedly.  
  
"Well, the only bad news is that since there has been a restriction on travel due to the Ultimicia ordeal, I have to put in requests for travel passes for each of you. Once those requests are sent, it will be about a week before we receive the passes. You have all day today to choose your destination, and I'll call you here again tomorrow morning. Understood?" After receiving a nod from each teen, he bowed his head to the group. "Dismissed."  
  
The crew of friends piled into the elevator and made for the first floor. It was a tight squeeze, however. Squall had to hold Rinoa against his chest to keep her from crushing Selphie. Quistis shot a glare at Irvine when he tried to do the same to her. Poor Zell was about to have a panic attack being shoved so close so Sephie. He started to sweat and began slowly inching as far as he could away from her. This did not go unnoticed by the cheerful brunette, however. She smirked ever so slightly, a little plan forming in her head. The door to the elevator slid open. Squall and Rinoa were the first out, followed by Irvine and an annoyed Quistis. As soon as he had an opening, Zell tried to dart out of the lift, but a small hand on his shoulder halted his movement. Selphie swung herself around to face him, giving him a playful smile. Zell's face screamed panic and nervousness and his eyes darted around, looking for an escape route. However, when the hand on his shoulder moved to rest lightly on his chest, he knew that there was no escape. He made the mistake of looking down into her gorgeous emerald eyes, and from then on he was completely immobile. He stood dumbfounded, unable to do anything but stare into her beautiful, sparkling eyes.  
  
His nervousness increased tenfold when she raised herself up onto her toes until her lips were right next to his ear. He shivered when her warm breath made contact with ear…he wanted nothing more than to reach out and wrap is arms around her, but he could do nothing but stand stone still as she whispered in his ear.  
  
"I never knew you were such a good cook, Zell, or that you had such good taste in flowers…"  
  
Zell's jaw fell right down to the floor. He tried to form words, but found he had no voice. Selphie's lips slid from his ear to his cheek, planting a soft kiss there. She pulled away from the stunned man, giving him an innocent smile and a little wave over her shoulder as she went to the stairs. "You should come see me more often, Zell," she said in a sugary sweet voice without turning around. From somewhere in the vicinity, a voice yelled, "Whoo! Go Zell!" but he hardly noticed. He was a bit distracted by the way Selphie's hips swung as she walked down the stairs. His eyes never left her retreating form until she was out of sight.  
  
"How did she know it was me?"  
  
His brain seized up momentarily, attempting to process what had just happened. A slow smile melted its way on to his face, and he felt the elation run all through his body. Grinning stupidly, the let exhileration take over and with triumph evident in his voice, he thrust a fist into the air and whooped at the top of his lungs,  
  
"BOOYA!!!"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
So, how was it? I'm not sure if I should leave this as a one chapter short fic, or if I should continue it…input please? Should I continue it and, if so, where should I go with it? I was thinking of having Selphie go home with Zell, since she has no parents to go to. What do you think? Well, until next time!  
  
~Ayu-chan 


	2. Ch 2 - Jealousy Rears Its Ugly Head

Disclaimer - Me no own. Please don't sue! I love the characters to death, but alas…they belong to me not! *weeps*  
  
Author's note – La la la! Chapter two! Yep, this fic got the most reviews the soonest out of the three, so as promised, it's the first updated! Profuse thanks to purple-sorceress, Zell's Girl with a Pigtail, Skye Zephyr, and shootinstar! You guys were my first reviewers ever! :: huggles :: I hope you stick with me! I'll try my best to keep you guys satisfied! So, here's chapter two! Short, yes, I know, but it was the perfect place to stop! Never fear, though, I already have plans for chapter three! So, without further ado…enjoy!  
  
P.S. :: thinking :: , "speaking"  
  
  
  
The Way of Things  
  
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Rating: Still G, still fluffy romance for the whole family!  
  
Author: Ayu-chan  
  
E-mail: ph0enixtear@yahoo.com  
  
Version: 1.0  
  
Chapter Two: Jealousy Rears it's Ugly Head  
  
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Ten hours and several hot dogs later, Zell lay in his dorm tossing and turning with pent-up energy. Over and over again, the scene from earlier that day replayed in his mind…  
  
******  
  
:: Selphie's lips slid from his ear to his cheek, planting a soft kiss there. She pulled away from the stunned man, giving him an innocent smile and a little wave over her shoulder as she went to the stairs. "You should come see me more often, Zell," she said in a sugary sweet voice without turning around. ::  
  
******  
  
"ARG!!!" He leapt from his bed to the door, throwing it open with so much force that the doorknob nearly broke off. Several girls chatting in the hallway screamed and vaulted out of his way, babbling at him in annoyance. Without giving them more than an irritated glance, he took off at a brisk jog towards the quad.  
  
"Alright," he said to himself encouragingly as he ran. "She told me to go see her. That's what I'm doing. I'm only doing what she told me to! What's the worst that could happen?" His mind chose that moment to cook up some lovely pictures of him walking into the quad and being met with the wonderful scene of Selphie in Irvine's arms, smiling and giggling happily. Growling deep in his throat at the jealous feelings welling up inside him, he accelerated his jog to an out-and-out run. Nearly running over several people, he dashed into the quad, screeching to a sudden halt as a horrified look fell over his tattooed countenance.  
  
There, facing away from him at the bottom of the stairs, was Irvine. In his arms was a petite chestnut-haired girl with green eyes that sparkled in the late afternoon sunlight. Squeezing his eyes shut, he balled up his fists as tight as a boa constrictor wraps its prey, wanting nothing more than to have his hands around Irvine's throat. A snarl twisted his lips and he stalked forward…only to be stopped by a small, fair-skinned hand.  
  
"Zell?" A worried voice inquired softly. "Zell? Is something wrong?"  
  
The young man's eyes shot open and looked down, meeting two concerned- filled emerald pools. :: Selphie! :: His head jerked in Irvine's direction, staring at the pair below him in confusion. :: If this is Selphie, then who… ::  
  
"Hey Cassidy!" Selphie's cheerful voice rang out. The girl hanging on Irvine lifted her head, looking for the source of the voice. Smiling, she gave a cheery wave before turning back to her new love interest.  
  
:: Cassidy! The exchange student from Trabia! Geez, I'm so stupid! :: A stupid grin breaking out on his face, he grabbed the hand on his chest and used it to pull Selphie into his arms.  
  
"Zell!" she exclaimed in surprise, struggling for a moment in his tight embrace before relaxing against him. A small smile sneaking its way to her lips, she snaked her arms around his back, hugging him as tightly as he was she.  
  
Resting his chin on top of her head, he sighed in relief. "Thank Hyne! I almost killed Irvine!" Suddenly realizing their intimate embrace, he let go of her hastily and jumped back a step, laughing in embarrassment and scratching the back of his neck. Selphie covered her mouth with one hand, giggling at his sudden discomfort.  
  
Still smiling broadly, she grabbed his hand entwining her small, slender fingers with his strong, gloved ones. Sending him a charming wink, she tugged on his hand. "Shall we go get something to eat? It's almost dinnertime! I'm staaaaaarved!"  
  
"Of course," he replied, a bit of crimson tinting his cheeks. Giving her hand a gentle squeeze, he led her out of the quad, a contented smile gracing his handsome face.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
So, how was chapter two for ya? Constructive criticism is welcome; I'm looking to improve here! I know where I'm going for the next chapter, but beyond that, your ideas are welcome! Well, hope you enjoyed, be back soon with another chapter, I hope! Until then, minna-san!  
  
~Ayu-chan 


End file.
